The above photo was taken last year so the old man 😉 is now 46. The #haikuchallenge word today is time so it works out well to finish #NaHaiWriMo with a birthday poem. And I have successfully written at least one haiku-esque poem a day. 😀

This was not the first time I used the #haikuchallenge to write Shawn’s birthdaypoem. A couple years ago, I even included photos from the Exotic Show at the Alwun House.

By: Antawn Salinas Twitter: @Antawn_Salinas Instagram: kickpuncherone You heard me right, Owlfeed has a podcast, hosted by yours truly. This is the first of many, and I hope to get better at this with each one. On this one, I talk to my fellow co-editor-in-chief, Hope Laborin, and we talk about school journalism, Youtube, as […]

Last night Gretchen and I worked on bike haiku together (more just line and syllable count than traditional haiku). She needed to write poetry for her psychology class. She said she tried to compose a sonnet, but it was too difficult. Yeah, tell meabout it. I told her to write a haiku after all it is #NaHaiWriMo (national haiku write month). Her teacher said they would have to write more than one haiku if they chose haiku because it was too easy. Easy?! Has he ever written a haiku? I shouldn’t complain; we had mother daughter bonding time writing poetry.

Then this morning I see the #haikuchallenge word today is sad and I was still thinking of the bicycle haiku and wrote –

Child’s happy moment
First time taking off on bike
Parent somewhat sad

Everyone should keep in mind, my children accomplished something their mother never did – one needs balance to ride a bike and because of my cerebral palsy balance is something I don’t have and I never learned how to ride.

The first senryu was inspired by Colleen’s TankaTuesday No. 73. After reading the responses of a couple other poets I follow on WordPress, I decided to give this week’s challenge a try – the words this week are energy and knowledge.

Friday was the big day for Gretchen, she was off to see Hamilton with her school. We saw Wicked at Gammage auditorium a few years ago; I don’t remember the playbill being called gammbill. (Okay it was March 10, 2012) more than a few years ago. Gretchen loved her second Broadway musical at Gammage. Mom was a little jealous but not overly when I saw the balcony seating. We had balcony tickets for Wicked and the height really got to me. Then Saturday Gretchen went to a friend’s birthday party, they sat together at the play, so I asked her if everyone was talking about Hamilton at the party. She said yeah, and we were all talking about it in class, too. This one confused me because the play was Friday and they left at 7:30am and didn’t get back to school until 6pm. I totally forgot about her Saturday morning Eng 102 – doh! So Hamilton inspired haiku 😉

Two men stand back to back, pistols ready
when honor is in question
after ten, turn to solve

Then on Sunday, Rachael was back to work. She did get over to the medical clinic on campus and was officially diagnosed with the flu, but there wasn’t any other problems so she was told ibuprofen and rest. She actually stayed home on Wednesday and she and I watched the second half of season one of Star Trek Discovery. I’ll make my children into full fledged trekkies come hell or high water. When Rachael came home from work, she had term papers to write. The one thing about being sick for more than a week, very little homework was done. And of course, after she wrote Mom gets to proofread. Oy vey! One of the dullest papers I have read yet. Then we went to see Black Panther so my weekly blog update for the poet blog revival is a day late.

On the positive side, I think all the cleaning I’ve been doing paid off. Rachael got sick over a week ago and no one else in the house has shown any symptoms. And last week I had two haiku published outside of my own website and twitter.

The AZ Matsuri festivalis this weekend. They have been running a haiku contest to coincide with the festival the past four years. I have submitted every year and check out the ebooks when they become available. This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my haiku included among the honorable mentions. Thispagewill let you download and view all of the ebooks. Reading all the wonderful haiku is a great way to celebrate #NaHaiWriMo at the end of each book are the Japanese haiku. Shawn asked me if they were traditional nature, mora, kigo and kireji. I know the English haiku only had to be about AZ nature, but since I don’t read Japanese, I don’t know how traditional they are.

I hope everyone goes over to the AZ Matsuri website and downloads at least one of the ebooks. And any AZ residents, I hope to see your haiku and name in next year’s book. I’ve shared the submitting info every year, but I have yet to see a name and/or school I know. Well not exactly there are haiku by ASU students, but since Rachael is a biology major I haven’t asked her if she recognizes the authors.

Okay this isn’t funny; I had to turn my heat on this morning. The jet stream has dipped and we’re only suppose to have a high of 60! I got Gretchen off to school and crawled under my bedsheets again. Then she texts me, I’m cold. My nose is runny. I ask, You have tissues, right? Ya, but I’m using my jacket sleeve. On her fortunate side, mom is still doing a ton of laundry to keep the germs from spreading so it won’t be too difficult to add her jacket to a load, but she still may get beaten.

Rachael did go to school yesterday and today. I asked her if she could skip today, but she has lab and if she misses it there goes her A in the class. She’s not going to mess that up so off to school she went. I did tell her to get her butt into the medical clinic. She doesn’t think they can help, but on the off chance she has a bacterial infection, they can at least give her antibiotics. While she was gone yesterday, I washed her bedding. She came home and wanted to know where it was. I told her it was decontaminated. Today I’m running the air filter as well.

While I was getting warm under my blankets this morning, I heard some Canada geese fly over. I told them to fly back to Canada and bring the cold air with them. I think it will work, right? The #haikuchallenge word is see today. And since Rachael had me venture outside to feed the cats, I may have seen my breath. Well the cats were fed; the coffee made; and I’m back under my blankets with a cup of hot coffee to help warm me up. Busy wasting time online and thinking about all the housework on my agenda today.

Before I go check out purehaiku 2-20. Freya posted my haiku for her ocean series today. Thanks! I’m glad to be included with all the other great ocean haiku.

Hello readers here we are as another week has passed. I’ve written at least one haiku for the #haikuchallenge on Twitter this week, but nothing else on the poetry front. Thursday Rachael came home from school complaining of a headache. It blew up to a full migraine and fever and chills so she didn’t get any sleep Thursday night. As I’ve mentioned she doesn’t have school on Fridays; she was fortunate there.

Friday morning I get Gretchen out the door to school and go back to bed. Rachael not getting any sleep Thursday night meant I got very little, too. She actually fell asleep Friday afternoon so I texted Gretchen to be quiet when she got home from school. Friday night was the Erotic Poetry reading at Alwun House. I was going to go, but the plan was for Rachael to drive me over to Nonnie’s so she could get her new scrub and then Nonnie and I were going to go to the reading. Oh well. Shawn didn’t get home until 3am! I waited up for him. Of course Saturday no one did anything, besides getting Gretchen to and from her college course.

Saturday night Rachael wanted hot & sour soup from PF Chang’s (Pei Wei is just down the street) but she wanted the really good soup. As I was putting the order in online, Shawn asked for the Japanese Beef; I showed him the steak selections and said PF Chang’s not Pei Wei and he said, I have to go all the way down there (it’s only 3 miles from the house). You’re the one who agreed to your child’s soup request. Came home with dinner and red fortune cookies – a first for us. Now do you think they are red for Valentine’s Day or Chinese New Year or maybe both?

Then this morning Rachael got up bright and early, dressed and went off to work. I didn’t start to stir until around 11am and I hear her voice. I look out the window and sure enough the car was in the driveway. I get up and and ask, You’re feeling too bad to go in and get a paycheck? She said, No I went in and they sent me home. Apparently her father gave her a strange look when she walked back in the door only about two hours after she left. I was so tired I didn’t even hear her leave or come home. She’s spending a third day zoning out on the couch. Gretchen has tomorrow off for President’s Day, but ASU does not and knowing Rachael she’ll be off to school tomorrow.

And today I’m busy catching up on chores, making sure the sick germs do not travel. When I got up to see Rachael this morning, I thought she was talking to her dad, but he wasn’t around. He went out early to get the grocery shopping done. Apparently he has a full schedule of helping out a bunch of people today and since it’s been over a week since we’ve done grocery shopping, we were number one on his list. I’ve gotten groceries put away; changed cat litter; started laundry; emptied and reloaded the dishwasher; and now I’m taking a break.

Over the weekend, I read one of Ken’s posts and learned about the tau’ku. You canread it here,as usual another poetry form involving math. I can’t seem to get away. The tau’ku is a shorter haiku though not as short as a lune.

Well after Shawn complained haiku were not worthy enough to pay honor to the trash bin, I of course decided to subtract a syllable and give him a tau’ku. Yes, my first attempt at the form was satirical since the subject was a trash container and not nature.

Taken away too soon
Eighteen
years trash bin earns retirement

But really the man asked for an epic for a trash can! He had to know his wife would go the opposite direction. Meanwhile winter has decided to make another appearance in Phoenix. It was cloudy yesterday and threatened to rain. I heard some places got a trace but nothing worth mentioning. It’s cloudy again today and our rain chances are suppose to pick up through tomorrow; we’ll see. As I was watching the news last night, they had a reporter up in Flagstaff, talking about the snow and the city’s lackluster winter. It’s been dry and warm across the state. I thought I’d try a more truer tau’ku.

Hot, dry winter longs for
Monsoon
Summer storms quench thirsty desert

Wow and I thought proper haiku were difficult, though I do enjoy satirical ones. The above tau’ku had several versions before I settled on this one. Still not sure I’m satisfied, but it’s a decent first attempt.

By the way, Shawn noticed I put the imposter (new trash bin) away. There’s nothing you can do; it’s the replacement and they even wrote our address on it. Then Shawn talked about the dented lid on the old one as the kids used it to climb over the wall and climb up onto our roof. The hole he drilled into the bottom, so it wouldn’t collect rain water. Yeah dude, it’s gone and it is just a trash can!

About 7 or 8 months ago, the city came around collecting all the old trash bins and replacing them with new ones. Ours was left behind, because I had already put it away. This morning they came and took our old one and gave us a new one right as Shawn and Rachael were getting in the car to head for work/school. I got a text from Rachael, They took the old trash can right in front of us.

I was thinking, okay that explains the ruckus I heard outside; I was too lazy to look out the window, but it seemed to me Shawn and Rachael were a lot louder than normal. She sent another text, Trash bin is gone 😦 I look out the window and reply, but we have a shiny new one. Did you say goodbye.

Then Shawn sent me a text, They took trashy! Oh good grief he gave the trash bin a name. I replied the same, Did you say goodbye. He also sent me back 😦 Only my family would enjoy lamenting the loss of a trash bin. Okay so it worked for inspiration today the #haikuchallenge word on twitter is make. And all I keep thinking is – Wilson! The scene in Cast Away when Wilson is lost made both Rachael and Gretchen sob.

lol! 😀

Haiku is too short
Trash bin older than daughter
Make goodbye epic

Hubby complained my poem was not good enough for a trash can older than our daughter; it was 18. He wants an epic or at least an ode.